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Take TV-free days to combat obesity, health experts urge
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Draft health advice on obesity has recommended taking TV-free days or setting two-hour limits on the amount of time spent sitting in front of screens.
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The advice, aimed at helping the population to keep weight off as well as losing it, says the long hours many of us spend watching TV or staring at screens prevent us being active – and many people snack as they watch.
The guidance from Nice (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) urges people to set limits for the sake of their health. “Any strategy that reduces TV viewing and other leisure screen time may be helpful (such as TV-free days or setting a limit to watch TV for no more than two hours a day),” it says.
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The Nice guidance, which now goes out to consultation, is aimed at public health advisers. With 62% of the population overweight or obese, there is great concern for the nation’s health.
Excess weight carries increased risks of heart attacks, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, including breast cancer. Obesity cost the NHS an estimated £16bn in 2007 and is forecast to rise to £50bn by 2050.
Nice says people should be encouraged to be more active. Brisk walking and cycling are good, as well as physical activity such as dance, sport or swimming in leisure breaks at work or school.
Nice, which wants even people whose weight is currently in the normal range to reassess their lifestyle, also stresses better eating habits. People should not eat more calories than they burn up and should cut down on the amount of energy-dense food, such as fried foods, biscuits, sweets and full fat cheese.
The draft guideline comes down firmly in favour of the Mediterranean diet – not as a weight loss plan but a way of life. We should be eating vegetables, fruit, beans and pulses, wholegrains, fish and using olive oil instead of other fats. We should all eat breakfast – consisting of unsweetened wholegrain cereals or bread and lower fat milk. “People who do not usually eat breakfast should eat it instead of other energy dense snacks such as pastries or biscuits,” says the guidance.
Meals should be “enjoyable occasions without distractions”, which means not in front of the television.
Fast food and takeaways should also be limited. “Any strategy that helps to reduce the amount of ‘fast’ or ‘takeway’ foods consumed and how often they are eaten is likely to be helpful (such as limiting these foods to no more than once a week),” says Nice.
Sugar-sweetened drinks, including sports drinks, should be avoided. People should be encouraged to choose lower fat options when they are eating meat, dairy products, pizzas, biscuits and cakes. Meat should be eaten less often.
Alcohol causes weight problems too, says Nice. “For example, a man drinking the upper weekly limit of 21 units will be consuming around 1400 to 1800 extra calories each week,” says the document.
In a sideswipe at the diet industry, Nice says that “Extreme behaviours (such as aiming to avoid all carbohydrates) are difficult to sustain and may not be accompanied by wider improvements in health.” Another misconception, it says, is that eating in the evening will make you put on weight - all that matters is the total calorie intake over the whole day.
“Following a healthier diet and being more physically active is important for everyone, not just if you are already overweight or obese,” said Professor Mike Kelly, director of the centre for public health at Nice.
“The general rule for maintaining a healthy weight is that energy intake through food and drink should not exceed energy output from daily activity. We all know we should probably take the stairs rather than the lift, cut down on TV time, eat more healthily and drink less alcohol. But it can be difficult to know the most useful changes that we can make in terms of our weight.”
